Hydraulic heel-creeper.



' ITO-851,240.

v PATENTED APR. 23', 19m.- 0. F. LEIBE'RT. HYDRAULIG HEEL CREEPER. APPLICATION FILED APR.21,1906.

was NORRIS PETERS cu, WASHINGTON, u. c.

owEN F. LEIBERT, or BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

HYDRAULIC HEEL-CREEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 21, 1906, Serial No. 313,027.

Patented April 23, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OWEN F. LEIBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bethlehem, Northampton county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Heel-Creepers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to heel creepers, and has for its object to provide-an improved and effective device of the character described, and to these ends my invention consists in the various features of construction and ar rangement of parts having the general mode of operation substantially as hereinafter more particularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein is illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention,Figure 1 is a bottom plan view, partly in section, of one of the sectional parts of the creeper; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the other or bottom sectional part; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 is a side view.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a creeper which may be permanently connected to a boot or shoe and be provided with pikes or other hold-fast devices which can be projected beyond the ordinary face or surface when desired, and can be retracted so as to be contained within the outline or surface of the part to which they are connected; and further to provide hydraulic pressure means or devices for operating the pikes to project or withdraw them to hold them in the desired position.

While, of course, my invention may be applied in diflerentrelations to different parts of the boot or shoe, in order to illustrate and explain the principles of the invention, 1 have shown it as applied to a heel, and while I shall describe it generally as a hydraulic heel creeper, it will be understood that I use the term hydraulic broadly to include any suitable fluid pressure device. It will further be understood that the details of construction and arrangement can be varied to suit the requirements of any particular case without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the present embodiment of the invention I have shown a heel which may be made as a separate and independent article or structure, and may be applied in any suitable way to a boot or shoe either in the process of manufacturing the same or as an adjunct to the ordinary structure of such articles.

As illustrated in the drawing, the heel body is preferably made of metal and for convenience of manufacture and attachment is made in two sections generally designated as A, B, which may be suitably connected together; and preferably the bottom section is provided with a walking face or wearing surface C of leather, rubber or the like.

The section A may be said to comprise the main portion of the body of the heel and is provided with means by which it can be at tached to the boot or shoe, and is preferably made of a skeleton plate A with side walls A Mounted on or formed in connection with this portion is a pressure cylinder D and also one or more lifting cylindersE, E, six being shown in the present instance.

The pressure cylinder D may be of any suitable construction, but as shown it is formed as a part of the main section A, and is provided with a plunger D. This plunger is shown as provided with a screw thread on its outer portion fitting an internal screw thread in the pressure cylinder. These threads, which may be double or triple threads, are preferably made relatively fine or of a steep pitch, so as to have a relatively large contact between their surfaces securing an accurate fit which will prevent leaking of the fluid under pressure, and thus the necessity of supplying a packing is avoided. The plunger may be provided with a head D by means of which it can be turned or adjusted in the pressure cylinder by any suitable tool or by a lever D. The lifting cylinders E, in the present instance, are also formed integrally with the main body portion, and are connected with the pressure cylinder by suitable pipes d, by means of which the fluid can be distributed from the pressure cylinder to the various lifting cylinders and withdrawn therefrom in a manner well understood.

The lifting cylinders are preferably formed with one open end to receive the cylinder heads F, which are adapted to be screwed into the cylinders and the heads are formed with notches f adapted to receive a screw driver or other tool, by means of which the heads may readily be applied to or withdrawn from the cylinders. Mounted in the lifting cylinders are plungers G and these plungers extend through a central opening in the cylinder heads and are connected to the pikes. Within the cylinders and between the head of the plunger Gr and the cyl- IEO inder heads, I preferably place a cup-shaped packing H, and between this packing and the cylinder head is a collar I to prevent injuring the'packing when the cylinder head is being screwed into position. The head of the plunger is preferably provided with an annular groove g, which is intended to fit the cupshaped packing and aid in holding the packing tight against the plunger head when the pikes are extended and make a tight joint preventing the escape of the fluid under pres sure.

The pikes J may be of any suitable or desired shape or construction, but in the present instance I have shown them in the form of hollow cylinders secured to the ends of the plungers Gin some suitable way, being screw threaded in the present instance. These pikes, when in their normal or withdrawn position, are practically flush with the surface of the leather or rubber plate C, and are, of course, subject to wear in ordinary usage, but when it is desired to utilize the pikes they are extended or projected beyond the surface of said plate to the desired degree.

In assembling the parts and attaching the heel to a boot or shoe, any suitable means may be utilized for the latter purpose, but I have shown the section A as provided with a series of openings at adapted to receive screws or similar fastening devices by means of which it can be secured in position. I have also shown the section B as provided with openings 6 for the reception of screws which may take into threaded or tapped openings (1 in section .A for securing the two sections together. In section B I have shown tapped openings b for the reception of screws pass ing through the plate C when they are necessary, although'oidinarily the plate C can be held in position by the tapered walls A Any other suitable means for securing the parts or sections together, of course, can be utilized.

The hollow portions of the main body section may be filled with any suitable material as cork, felt, cement, or the like so as to make a practically solid heel, although this is an unnecessary refinement.

Such being the preferred construction and arrangement of the parts, the mode of operation will be readily understood, and it will be seen that by operating the plunger D in the pressure cylinder D, the fluid contained therein and in the passages d will be forced into the lifting cylinders forcing the plungers G outward and these carrying the pikes J will project the latter beyond the surface of the plate C to the desired distance and maintain them in this position by hydraulic pressure. I/Vhen it is desired to restore the pikes to their normal poition, the plunger D is turned in the opposite direction withdrawing the fluid from the lifting cylinders.

What I claim is,

l. A creeper provided with adjustable pikes and hydraulic devices for operating the plkes.

2. In a creeper, a body provided with adjustable pikes, a pressure cylinder, and connections between the pressure cylinder and pikes for operating the latter.

3. A creeper provided with a pressure cylinder, lifting cylinders, connections between the latter and the pressure cylinder, and pikes connected to be operated by the lifting cylinders.

4:. A creeper provided with pikes, lifting cylinders having detachable heads, plungers extending through the heads and connected to the pikes, and hydraulic devices for operating the plungers. v

5. A creeper provided with pikes, lifting cylinders, detachable heads for the lifting cylinders, plungers in the cylinders extending through the heads and connected to the pikes, and packings between the heads and plungers.

6. A creeper provided with pikes, lifting cylinders, detachable heads, plungers the heads of which are grooved, and cup-shaped packings between the heads of the plungers and heads of the cylinders.

7. In a creeper, a body comprising two sections, one of which is provided with a pressure cylinder, lifting cylinders and connections between the two, and the other of which is adapted to support the wearing plate, and pikes mounted in the wearing plate and adapted to be operated by the pressure cylinder and connections.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. OWEN F. LEIBERT.

IVitnesses:

HENRY WV. SMITH,

R. IV. LEIBERT. 

